Uncoiling device



My 3o,

J. LISY UNCOILING DEVICE Filed July 9, 41942 i 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ORNEK i Patented May 30, 1944 asfissia UNcorrsNG DEVICE John Lisy, Cleveland, 0h10, assignor to The American Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation oi New Jersey Application July 9, 1942, `Serial No. 450,339

4 lail'ns. `(Cl. 242-123)y T'he present invention relates to improvements in means for uncoilirg wire or rod from bundles such as used in the manufacture of various wire products.

One object of the invention is to provide an uncolllng apparatus which will permit` the pay oilr of rod or wire from a bundled coil thereof at a greatly increased speed, as compared to apparatus heretofore used. 1 1

A further object is to provide an apparatus for uncoiling rod or wire in a manner which will eilectively minimize the likelihood ci sperling.

Thelnvention will be fully apparent from the following disclosure. when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and will be defined withA particularity in lthe appended claims:

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of apparatus embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation viewed from the right side of Figure 1; t

. Figure?. is a horizontal section on line III-III oi' Figure l: l

Figure e is an enlarged detail section on line IV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 illustrates a modiilcation of the invention; and

Figures 6 and 7 are, respectively. a plain view and a cross section' of portions of the uncoilnfz 'apparatus shown'in Figure 5.

In present-day methods ofA manufacturing wire products. it is customay to handle the rod from which the wire is ultimately drawn in the I form of somewhat loosely coiled bundles of substantially annular form. For many operations in a wire mill it is necessary to coil the'rod or wire into relatively loose bundles rather than to wind it on a spool because oi the processing to which the rod and wire is subjected. such as pickling, liming, annealing, etc. For this reason various devices have heretofore' been used for 'uncoiling the bundles so as to leed the wire or use ci an inexpensively constructed apparatus such as that hereinafter set forth in detail.

The apparatus embodying the present laveriltor elements 22 and 24. i these separator members is identical; therefore tion comprises a pair of inwardly inclined platforms I0 and I2 to which are secured respective cylindrical cores I4 and `it adapted to extend upwardly through the eye or centrali/oid of the coiled bundles iii and 2li ci rod or wire stock.

' Detachably secured to the upper ends of the cores It and iii there are respective coil separa- The construction oi a description of one will sirmce for both. Each separator element comprises an inner ring 2t of a diameter sulcient to be easily engaged over the exterior of the core on which it is mounted. Secured to each ring 22d there are a plurality of spokes 28. which `extend upwardly and outwardly and connect with a coil separator ring 30 of materiallylarger diameter than the inner ring 26. Another series of spokes 32 secured to the ring 30 are united near the center to a hub 3 adapted to rest ori a shoulder 36 formed on a central supporting post to which is secured'to the inclined base member.

An overhead iloating sheave il@ is journaled in a carriage 42 slldably mounted on a pair oi inclined guide rods M whose lower portions are secured at it to a base bracket. as shown. The upper. ends of the guide rods are secured at 48 to an overhead structuralbeani 5t which may conveniently be part of the factory or mill structure in which the apparatus is located. i counterweight 52 is connected by a cable c@ trained around sheaves 58 and attached to the carriage vi2 s0 as to yieldingly normally hold the carriage t2 and sheave Ml in the upper position illustrated in Figure 2. The counterweight normally rests on a fixed support 58, and in this position it holds a switch bar- 6i] depressed against the action of a spring 62 and closes a circuit across contacts @d and t@ of circuit wires (ill and lil which supply current to a motor i2 adapted to drive e. suitable piece of processing; machinery for usine the wire product positioned by the cores it and it. The counterweight il@ may be conveniently aulded between the flanges lil oi' an upright coi umn it termina part of the 'irarneworh ci the factory or rrlili building structure in which the apparatus is located,

A barrier member 'il formed ci converging; plates l@ and il@ is secured bese iii and lil so as to eiectively separate the two 'bundles oi rod or wire positioned respectively between cores 'it and iii. this barrier servirle to prevent the convolutio'ns oi the two bundles from becoming interentangle-tlit is advantageousto provide the dualbundie supporting means with the barrier between since this permits the trailing end of one bundle of rod or wire to be welded or otherwise united to the leading end of the other bundle during the time the rod or wire is being uncoiled or paid off from one of the bundles.

ln normal operation of the apparatus 'the separator elements 22 and 25 can be readily removed manually merely by an endwise lifting motion, whereupon the bundles i8 and 20 can be slippedover the cores it and I6. The separator elements 22 and 2l are then placed on thecores. The leading' end of one bundle of wire, for example, the bundle 20 in Figure 1 is then threaded over the floating sheave 4@ and then passed downwardly and around a guide sheave 82 for directing the rod or wire to a machine indicated conventionally at; 84, which, may be regarded, for example, as a wire drawing machine or wire straightening and cutting machine, both pieces of mechanism being adapted to operate on the rod or wire at a high rate of speed and being effective to withdraw the rod or wire from the bundles at speeds ranging from approximately 1000 to 2500 feet per minute. In uncoiling wire or rod stock from a bundle at such a high rate of speed, the practical difficulty is to prevent snarling or tangling. Practice has demonstrated that the apparatus shown herein permits a high rate of uncoiling, with much less diiiiculty than that experienced with conventional apparatus heretofore used. f

It is considered an important feature of this invention to mount the cores on the inwardly inclined or tapered platforms I and i2, su-ch as shown in Figures l and 4. Because of this taper or inclination of the supporting platforms a line drawn from the center of the guide sheave d!! through the axis of either lcore I4 or i6 will be substantially perpendicular to the bundle supporting surface of the platform. This arrangement materially aids in the proper uncoiling oi the rod or wire from the bundles, and effectively prevents snarling or tangling of the coils.

The disclosed dual core arrangement automatically positions the bundles so that the coils are withdrawn in the optimum direction over the guide sheave llt. Moreover, the dual arrangement facilitates the welding together of the ends of the coiled bundles and contributes greatly to smooth and eicient operating conditions.

The dot-an'd-dasli center lines in Figure l which coincide with the axes of the cores it and it are perpendicular to the coil supporting sur faces of the platforms lil and i2, and said center lines intersect at the center of the overhead sheave. Otherwise expressed, the center of the guide grooveoi the overhead sheave may be said to lie in a piane coincidentv with the bisector of the angle dened by the extended axial center iine o the cores id and it.

The tension applied tol the wire or rod beyond the sheave d2 by the wire drawing or other wire processing machine will be transmitted to the bundle and thus gradually uncoil the bundle as the successive convolutions are paid ofi therefrom. During the uncoiling, the rod or wire will be guided because of the-rubbing contact it makes with the outer periphery of the coil separator ring td. Since this ring is of materially larger diameter than the greatest diameter of the coiled bundle, it will be apparent that as each successive portion of a convolution of the uncoiled wire or rod product travels from the bundie toward. the guide sheaveil, it will be forced Sil ascaers outwardly by the camming action of the coil separator ring Qt. Thus as each successive convolution is uncoiied it will be eiectively loosened, scparated and forced outwardly away from the remaining more tightly related convolutions of the bundle. lt is regarded important'to so arrange the parts as to provide considerable distance between the bundle and the overhead guide sheave,

drives the wire drawing or other wire or rod prccl essing machine 8d.

Because of the generous head room or distance between the sheave 40 and the floor on which the platforms I0 and i2 rest, it will be understood that on the rare occasions when a snarl occurs the carriage i2 can partake of comparatively long travel without breaking the rod or wire. Such long travel provides a time lag of suicient duration to permit the processing machine 84 to coast or come to a gradual stop after the power has been automatically cut oft by the switch means described. Thus the snarled portion will not reach the machine et, and an opportunity will be given the operator to remedy the trouble.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 5 through 7, @S represents a tank or receptacle for holding a body oi water in which bundles of rod or wire to be drawn or Processed are adapted to be submerged. In this modication lthe cores'88 are in the form oi wooden spoke-like skeleton core elements having a head secured thereto. ln this modiilcation each of the coil separator elements is made in the form of a basket-like substantially frusta-conical skeleton frame conF sisting of an upper circular ring having spokes @d welded thereto. these spokes also being weldedlto a lower ring t@ which slips over the exterior of the core amber da. Other spokes da are secured at their outer ends to the' ring @2 and at their inner ends to a hub it@ which carries a downwardly projecting stud EQ2 adapted to pass through a bearing opening formed in the member @ti so as to centerthe separator element with the core. de the wire to be processed is paid ofi from the core 32, the upper ring @d oi' the separator element functions to urge each convolution outwardly as itis uncoiled from the bundle encircling the core @Si so as to thus inhibit the tendency of the convolutions to become entangled.

'While l have described quite precisely the design and arrangement or the structure herein illustrated, it is not to be construed that l am strictly limited thereto since various modifications may be made ,by those skilled in the art without demrture from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

l claim:

l. Uncoiling apparatus of the character dcscribed comprising a pair of platforms with bundle supporting surfaces inclined downwardly toward one another, respective bundle positioning cores mounted on said platforms, each core carryirig a coil separating element comprising an inner annular member engageabie with the upper occasioned by a snarl in the wire, said switch end oi' the core and an outer coil separating ring connected to said inner ring, and a barrier located between said cores and adapted to prevent intertwining of the respective bundles carried thereby;

2. An apparatus of the character described comprising a motor adapted to operate a rod or wire processing machine, a supporting platform, a core secured thereto adapted to position a bundle of rod or wire, an overhead sheave about which the rod or wire is trained, a separator element coacting 'with the core having a coil deflecting portionof a diameter greater than that of the core and effective to separate convolutions of the bundle upon the application of tension on the rod or Wire trained over said overhead sheave. a carriage for said sheave slidable along a fixed guide, a counterweight connected by a flexible element with said carriage, a guide pulley over which said flexible element is trained, and a snarl switch normally held closed by the counterweight resting 'thereon but adapted to be opened when the counterweight is lifted as a result ot tension controlling the circuit of said motor.

3. In an apparatus o! the character described,

a separator element including a lower ring adapt ed to be engaged with a core having a bundle of rod or wire positioned thereby, an upper ring of a diameter larger than said lower ring, and spokes connecting said rings, said upper ring being adapted to urge the convolutions of the rod or wire outwardly as the same is paid oiifrom said core.

4. -In an apparatus o: the character described, a separator element including a lower ring adapt.- ed to be engaged with a core positioning a bundle of rod or Wire, an upper ring of a diameter larger l' than said lower ring, spokes connecting said rings, said upper ring being adapted to urge the convolutions of the wire outwardly as the same is paid o!! from said core, and a central hub also connected by spokes to the upper ring, the hub having means adapted to center-said rings on Said Core. JOHN may. 

